The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

"This……"

After hearing what Yuu Aragaki said, the children hesitated and looked at each other. After much deliberation, they finally made up their minds.

"Alright, then it's decided! Let's head to Granny Mountain Demon's house!"

Mitsuhiko clenched his fists and encouraged himself, "Even if it costs me my life, I will do everything in my power to protect Ayumi and Haibara!"

The next second, amidst Ayumi's touched expression and Miyano Akemi's slightly smiling face, Haibara Ai said with a strange expression, "Thank you. So, you're willing to be eaten by the mountain witch in my place?"

Mitsuhiko: ^－_－^

"Uh..." Upon hearing Ai Haibara's words, Mitsuhiko paused, then, thinking of the mountain spirit with the sharp blade, he turned to Genta with a guilty conscience. "This, this might be a bit... Besides, the mountain spirit would probably think that Genta would taste better if he were a little chubby!"

Yuantai: "..."

Chapter 740 The Mountain Demon Granny (2)

"I didn't expect that this thatched-roof house would be so beautiful when I got closer!"

When everyone carried their luggage to the open space in front of the house, they discovered that the house, which had just seemed a bit eerie, was actually quite exquisite and beautiful.

At this moment, Mitsuhiko and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief, "It doesn't look like the mountain spirit's house!"

"Yes, the mountain witch usually lives in those dilapidated little houses."

"And they'll all be carrying a huge kitchen knife!"

While Professor Agasa was knocking on the door, the members of the Junior Detective League, no longer afraid, began to discuss the Mountain Troll Granny in private.

However, in the next second.

Upon noticing someone approaching, Aragaki Yu thoughtfully stepped back, exposing Mitsuhiko and the others to the other person.

A sinister laugh suddenly reached the ears of the children.

"Hehehe... Are you talking about this kind of kitchen knife?"

The children of the Junior Detective Club were startled by the sound. As they shakily turned their heads to look to their side, they were surprised to find an old woman with white hair and a wrinkled face, holding a kitchen knife, standing next to them.

A strange smile played on her lips, and her slightly cloudy eyes kept scanning the children.

"ah--!?"

"They're here, it's Granny Mountain Demon!"

Mitsuhiko and the others' faces turned deathly pale. As they exclaimed in surprise, their eyes all turned to search for Aragaki Yu's figure.

At this moment, perhaps only the reliable older brother Aragaki can make them feel at ease.

However, when they finally found Aragaki Yu's figure, they discovered that Aragaki Yu, who had just been standing next to them, was now several meters away from them.

……

"Grandma, you live here?" At the same time, Conan, who only noticed the old woman a little more than Aragaki Yuuwan, rolled his eyes at his useless friends and took a few steps forward to the old woman to ask politely.

The old woman glanced at Conan and slowly nodded. "Yes, that's right."

Seeing that the old woman seemed quite agreeable, Conan's expression became even more docile. "Could we stay here for the night? Our car got a flat tire in the woods ahead and we can't go any further..."

"A tire blowout? In a place like this..."

The old woman looked at Conan, then at the distant woods, wondering why these children would come to such a remote place.

Seeing the old woman's confused look, Miyano Akemi quickly explained their situation to her, "I'm so sorry, I'm very sorry to make such a rude request to you, but we were originally going to the campsite, but we got lost halfway there, and when we didn't know what to do, we saw your house."

"What?!" The old woman finally understood. "If that's the case, you should have said so earlier!"

She was initially worried that the people who appeared in such a remote place might be bad people, although the visitors in front of her, apart from an exceptionally handsome "couple," were mostly elderly people and children.

Perhaps to dispel Mitsuhiko and the others' doubts, Conan asked with a smile, "Grandma, why are you here with a kitchen knife?"

"Oh, this!" The old woman turned around and pointed to the simple hut not far from the house. "I was chopping pickles in that hut when I suddenly heard your voices, so I ran out to see who would be in a place like this at this hour. And then I heard you talking about some kind of mountain demon..."

At this point, the old woman couldn't help but laugh.

Ai Haibara wanted to say something about the old woman's prank, but remembering that she had just done something similar, she opened her mouth but then changed the subject, "Around here, it seems like there aren't any other lights on besides the old woman's house?"

“I’m the only family left around here. All the residents who used to live here have now moved to the city.”

The old woman explained somewhat forlornly, then turned and walked towards the house. "Alright, I don't have much to offer, but if you don't mind, please come inside!"

"Thank you so much!"

Seeing this, everyone immediately followed the old woman into the house after she opened the sliding door.

"Oh, besides you, Grandma, is there anyone else living here?"

After the mother-in-law changed into slippers in the entryway and went inside, the observant Yuu Aragaki noticed that there was another pair of slippers placed in the entryway.

This was clearly not prepared specifically for these unexpected guests.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean this..." The old woman turned around and glanced at everyone. When she noticed Aragaki Yu's gaze fixed on the slippers, she explained as if suddenly realizing something, "Those are my grandson Shota's slippers. But he ran away from home ten years ago, saying he wanted to be a chef or something... He just took off those slippers and left, so I didn't bother to put them away properly... You can wear them if you want. There are plenty of other slippers in the shoe cabinet over there."

"Okay, thank you so much!"

As Aragaki Yu expressed his gratitude, Miyano Akemi, having obtained the old woman's permission, helped everyone take out suitable slippers from the shoe cabinet.

However, no one deliberately used the old woman's grandson's slippers.

Although the old woman said she just didn't put away her grandson's slippers, everyone knew what she was really thinking.

……

"Who is this person?" After everyone changed into slippers and entered the inner room, Mitsuhiko and Genta immediately noticed the photo in the frame on the cabinet—

It was a photo of a boy and an old woman.

“He is Jiang Tai…” The old woman glanced at the photo frame and then immediately looked away. “That heartless boy hasn’t sent a single letter back in ten years, nor has he ever come back to see me. But he must have become some great chef by now, so he sends me a large sum of money every month. But I’m too lazy to use the money of such a heartless person.”

"..."

Miyano Akemi glanced at the photo in the cabinet and watched the old woman turn and leave. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but was patted on the shoulder by Aragaki Yu, who shook his head imperceptibly. Miyano Akemi hesitated for a moment, but finally gave up what she wanted to say.

Chapter 741 Cowherd

The furnishings inside the house were very simple, almost no different from other common farmhouses. The only difference was the ecological fish tank placed in the most conspicuous place in the hall, which seemed out of place with the surrounding environment.

Wow, there are so many goldfish!

The young detectives were immediately drawn to the aquarium.

The old woman, with her hands behind her back, turned around, glanced at the fish tank, and replied indifferently, "This is also my grandson's. How could he leave me such a troublesome thing..."

"But these goldfish seem to be quite big!" Ai Haibara looked at the goldfish in the aquarium with some curiosity.

Upon hearing this, the old woman looked at Ai Haibara and explained matter-of-factly, "It's lived for ten years, of course it's big!"

Although the old woman complained that the goldfish were a hassle, she actually took very good care of them.

However, at this moment, someone was oblivious to the situation, and Yuan Tai said something surprising: "Are you going to fatten them up and eat them?"

Standing next to Genta, Mitsuhiko couldn't help but tug at his arm and remind him, "All you do all day is eat, you'll get fat, Genta!"

"..."

At the same time, a knocking sound suddenly came from the direction of the main door.

"What? Who would come to a place like this?" The old woman looked at the gate with some surprise.

I don't know what's going on today, that two groups of guests have visited my place one after another.

Seeing that the old woman turned around and seemed about to walk over and open the door, Aragaki Yu, who was closer to the front door, also stepped forward and opened the door.

"Um, may I ask who you are?" Aragaki Yu looked up and saw three young people, two men and one woman, standing outside the house.

Although the other party's attire wasn't luxurious, Aragaki Yu could immediately tell from their clothing that this trio, led by the woman in the middle, were not from ordinary families.

The three people standing outside were also surprised to see such a handsome young man come out of the house.

They clearly had no way of connecting Yuu Aragaki with a residence in such a remote place.

The woman standing in the middle, in particular, had a glint in her eye as she stared intently at Aragaki Yu standing in front of her.

However, before the woman could say anything, a man wearing a hat asked first, "Hello, is the owner of this house here?"

"Hmm?" Aragaki Yu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. Before the other person could notice, he stepped aside to make way, subtly concealing the momentary daze he had just experienced. "Yes, I'm here."

The man wearing a hat smiled and said, "Could you please ask her to come out for me?"

"What do you need me for?" This time, before Aragaki Yu could relay the message, the old woman who heard the noise outside came out on her own.

"Oh, I'm so sorry~" The young woman reluctantly looked away from Aragaki Yu and said to the old woman, "The three of us originally planned to do some forest bathing in these mountains..."

Another burly man chimed in, somewhat embarrassed, "We not only got lost, but our car also ran out of gas. So, if it's alright, could we please stay here for the night?"

Before the old woman could reply, the young woman spoke again: "Oh, right, right, we are definitely not suspicious people. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Akane Oba, you can just call me Miss Akane~"

After speaking, the woman named Akane Oba winked at Yuu Aragaki, clearly indicating that her self-introduction was specifically for Yuu's ears.

Yu Aragaki did not respond to this.

The two men standing nearby were also somewhat helpless about their companion's behavior. In order to ease the awkward atmosphere, they followed up with Akane Oba's words and gave brief self-introductions.

The man wearing the hat was named Kahara Fuga, and the other man was from Andarai. They both worked in customer service in Tokyo.